Image source, Reuters

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine will operate under Moscow's supervision, Russian Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov says.

The announcement comes after Putin formally annexed the Zaporizhzhia region along with three others this week.

The nuclear plant, Europe's largest, has been under Russian occupation and its site has been shelled several times.

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog has expressed serious concerns about its safety and called for demilitarising the area around it.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is due to visit Moscow to discuss the situation at the plant.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has told the BBC that Russia will retake areas of Ukraine that it is currently retreating from.

Speaking during a call with journalists, Peskov said the territories "will be with Russia forever, they will be returned".

Last week Russia annexed four Ukrainian provinces after self-styled referendums roundly condemned by world leaders.

Image source, Family photo

The family of an Irishman killed in the fighting in Ukraine have called him a "man of drive, purpose and conviction".

Rory Mason, 23, died while fighting for Ukraine's International Legion near the Russian border.

Ukraine called for foreign volunteers to enlist following Russia's invasion. It is not clear how many are fighting now, but Ukraine previously put the figure at about 16,000.

Pictures have just come in of newly mobilised Russian soldiers in the first stages of military training.

The conscripts, pictured attending target practice and explosives training in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, are among 300,000 men ordered to join the frontline by Putin.

The mobilisation also saw protests, errors over drafting and thousands of people fleeing the country.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Matt Goddard/BBC

There was almost no-one in the large white tent where blankets and clothes were piled up, ready to be handed out to new arrivals here in the reception centre in Zaporizhzhia.

We met 19-year old Maksym Bezhan, travelling with his mother, young brother and family cat - three of just 43 people to arrive that day.

They were all exhausted after a four-day trip from their home in a village near the port city of Berdyansk.

"It was frightening to get out," he told us. "We were afraid we'd encounter a Russian soldier in a bad mood; that we'd be turned around and sent back home."

There were other worries too. Would the soldiers check his phone? His computer?

"After the invasion," he said, "I became very pro-Ukrainian."

Read Paul's report in full.

More now on the fighting on the ground.

Ukraine says it has made major advances in regions Russia declared annexed. Its forces are pushing south along the west bank of the Dniepro river, and are said to be consolidating their progress in the north-east.

Among the gains, Ukraine says it recaptured a key village in the Kherson region, its forces raising the national flag in celebration.

Russia continues to mount attacks against Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials reporting that a town south-west of Kyiv was targeted with explosive drones, injuring one, as well as attacks in other areas including the city of Zaporizhzhia.

We have a very useful guide to the conflict in maps where you can take a closer look at developments on the ground.

This one shows the eastern and southern regions, claimed by Russia in disputed referendums, and where the fiercest fighting is concentrated.

Jessica Parker
Reporting from Brussels

EU ambassadors have this morning agreed an eighth round of sanctions against Russia. Details haven’t yet been released.

Diplomats say the measures include export controls, import bans, broadening of sanctions criteria and legal alignment with the planned G7 oil price cap.

Image source, PA Media

More now on UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly's remarks. He doubled down on the UK's commitment to provide support to Ukraine, reiterating the government would "stay the course" as the conflict continued.

"We are absolutely determined to maintain the strength of our support to Ukraine," he told the BBC.

"Yesterday I described strategic endurance. It means we need to demonstrate to Vladimir Putin, and frankly anyone else who might be watching, that the UK stays the course. This is a defence of freedom not just about Ukraine. It's about respect for the UN charter - we are going to stick with it."

Hello and welcome to the day's coverage of the conflict in Ukraine. Here are the main developments:

Ukraine touts progress: President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country's forces were making rapid progress in three regions against Russian forces. He said Ukraine had recaptured dozens of towns in the south and the east. It is difficult to independently verify the claims, but the UK's Ministry of Defence made similar comments.

Putin signs annexation bill: Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed legislation annexing four regions of Ukraine, a move illegal under international law. Russia does not fully control the regions, and two of them are where Ukraine says it is making advances.

Nuclear worries: The United States has no indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict, the White House says. Putin has warned he is not bluffing about his threat to use nuclear weapons. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says his country will listen carefully to the threats but Putin has "a long history of sabre-rattling".